Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Santa Barbara, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LOU to SBA:
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- About this route
- LOU Airport Information
- SBA Airport Information
- Facts about LOU
- Facts about SBA
- Map of Nearest Airports to LOU
- List of Nearest Airports to LOU
- Map of Furthest Airports from LOU
- List of Furthest Airports from LOU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SBA
- List of Nearest Airports to SBA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBA
- List of Furthest Airports from SBA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,910 miles (or 3,073 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Bowman Field and Santa Barbara Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LOU / KLOU |
Airport Name: | Bowman Field |
Location: | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°13'41"N by 85°39'48"W |
Area Served: | Louisville, Kentucky |
Operator/Owner: | Louisville Regional Airport Authority (LRAA) |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 546 feet (166 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LOU |
More Information: | LOU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SBA / KSBA |
Airport Name: | Santa Barbara Airport |
Location: | Santa Barbara, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°25'33"N by 119°50'25"W |
Area Served: | Santa Barbara, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of Santa Barbara |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from SBA |
More Information: | SBA Maps & Info |
Facts about Bowman Field (LOU):
- The furthest airport from Bowman Field (LOU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- During the Great Depression, Louisvillians would often come to the Art Deco terminal building to watch airplanes depart and land as a form of inexpensive entertainment.
- Because of Bowman Field's relatively low elevation of 546 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowman Field at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- The first business ventures began with the aerial photography business in 1921, and the 465th Pursuit Squadron began operations at Bowman Field in 1922.
- The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
- Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St.
- Today Bowman Field is home to hundreds of privately owned aircraft as well as several commercial operations, including Central American Airways, which opened its doors in 1946, Falcon Aviation, Aero Club of Louisville, Inc., and Louisville Executive Aviation.
- Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
- The dominant landmark of Bowman Field is its terminal, known as the Administration Building, styled in aerodynamic Moderne.
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- Airline flights began in 1932 on Pacific Seaboard Airlines.
- The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of SBA.
- In addition to regularly scheduled flights offered by other airlines, Surf Air operates service to Burbank and San Carlos in California using seven seat Pilatus PC-12 turboprops via a membership only, pay-as-you-fly program.
- In the 1980s Apollo Airways, a commuter airline based in Santa Barbara that changed its name to Pacific Coast Airlines, flew Handley Page HP.137 Jetstreams from the airport.
- The furthest airport from Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Because of Santa Barbara Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Barbara Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
- As airplane manufacturing grew in the late 1930s that airstrip developed into an airfield.